Horoscope, 1 January: Check what the stars have in store you on first day of 2022

Your daily dose of astrological predictions is here! Under Saturday’s skies, many zodiac signs will witness new projects and deals in the coming days. Many will make New Year resolutions that will help them in the future while people waiting to get married may finally get to say their vows.

Tip for the day – Begin the new year with hope and happiness so that each of you have good days to see.

Meanwhile, check your horoscope here

Aries: (21 March - 19 April):

On the first day of the year, you should avoid starting any new work or job. Also, you will fail to achieve the appropriate results of your hard work as the stars are not with you today. Furthermore, people will ridicule you at the workplace, but you should ignore this and remain focused on your goal. Also, Aries will be worried about their life partners.

Taurus: (20 April - 20 May):

People with this zodiac sign may have to travel for job-related purposes in the coming days. Today is a favourable day for high-ranking officers, who will perform well at their jobs. Under Saturday’s skies, unmarried individuals who are waiting to tie the knot may get good news.

Gemini: (21 May - 20 June):

Geminis should remain careful about their health At the workplace, you might have good-natured banter with your colleagues. Those who stay away from their homes and families might take a day-off to try and reconnect with their loved ones. Under Saturday’s skies you will be in a mood to relax and unwind so make the most of it.

Cancer: (21 June - 22 July):

On the first day of the year, newlywed couples will begin their day by participating in religious activities. Those interested can also start a new business as the day is favourable for new financial ventures. As the day demands, you will have a busy schedule. However, you will be ready to help others also. Under Saturday’s skies, don’t do anything more than your capabilities or else, you might land into trouble.

Leo: (23 July - 22 August):

Leos are advised to maintain a disciplined daily routine today. Even your enemies will try to act friendly with you, so be careful and alert. Most importantly, stay away from unnecessary politics and backbiting as it will not help you in the future. As the new year begins, try to maintain cordial relationships with your near and dear ones.

Virgo: (23 August - 22 September):

People with this zodiac sign are advised not to let negative thoughts dominate. Under Saturday’s skies, you will get good results for all your hard work that you have put in. Furthermore, there are strong chances of success in interviews, so those who are waiting for some good news can heave a sigh of relief. Today, you might attempt to surprise your loved ones with a gift. Let the new year spark a new begining in your romantic relationship.

Libra: (23 September - 22 October):

On the first day of the year, you will get good success in business partnerships. Whatever be the task, remember to maintain transparency as it will help you progress. As it’s the new year, there will be a party and celebratory mood in your home. Most importantly, remember to behave nicely with your life partner today.

Scorpio: (23 October - 21 November):

Scorpios will be deeply inclined to religious activities today. To increase your knowledge and wisdom, you will also take great interest in writing activities. Those interested in politics will get an opportunity to associate themselves with some big programs and events. Because of your hard work and dedication, people will respect you a lot today. People in business will make good use of their acquaintances to earn more profits.

Sagittarius: (22 November - 21 December):

On the first day of the year, avoid lending money to anyone as it might bring bad luck. Whatever be the situation, don’t doubt your talent and capabilities, things will fall into place with time. Those into online business, will face loss in the coming days. Most importantly, don’t share your opinions with everyone, as they may try to twist your words against you.

Capricorn: (22 December - 19 January):

Under Saturday’s skies, you might get a big responsibility at your workplace. Despite the work and pressure, you will take great interest in arts and music, as it will help you relax. Today, you will be able to execute all your work with great efficiency as everything will go as planned. Many will enjoy some good moments with siblings, while parents will spend quality time with children.

Aquarius: (20 January - 18 February):

People with this zodiac sign will witness peace and prosperity in their family, today. Under Saturday’s skies, you will be motivated to do something new and creative, so go ahead. Working professionals will find alternative income sources that will help them progress. In the coming days, business expenses will increase for several people.

Pisces: (19 February - 20 March):

Pisces are gifted individuals as they have an ability to keenly observe other people and their behaviour. Hence, this gift will benefit you today in some way or the other. Under Saturday’s skies, if you are participating in a meeting, then try to conclude it in your favour. With this confidence, your boss will surely discuss your promotion that will help you grow. Also, the slow rate at which you have been progressing at your tasks over the past few days, will gather momentum, leading to progress in your work quickly.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3zd1QUk

Goodbye 2021: A look at major events political and beyond that shook the world this year

The major happenings in India and abroad that left a mark on the outgoing year, also, tend to have prominent impacts in the coming year. As we bid adieu to 2021, here's a look at the major events that probably history will give space in the future.

Mamata Banerjee's landslide victory in Bengal and Left retaining power in Kerala

The Bharatiya Janata Party's desperate attempt to make inroads in West Bengal turned futile as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress registered a landslide victory, winning 213 out of the 294 Assembly seats. However, BJP became the main opposition party bagging 77 seats in the state.

In Kerala, the incumbent Left Democratic Front retained power with a thumping margin. The CPM-led LDF broke a four-decade tradition of no-incumbent getting re-elected and won 99 out of the 140 seats in the assembly polls.

Infighting in Congress-ruled states and Capt Amarinder Singh's resigned as Punjab chief minister

The Congress faced infighting among its party cadres in Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. While the grand old party's high command managed to tackle the situation in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, things took an ugly turn in Punjab. The state's chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from his post and later from the party following his long-standing power tussle with Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu. Replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi, Amarinder Singh has now joined hands with the BJP and hopes to turn the tide in the upcoming assembly elections in Punjab.

Violence at Red Fort and in Lakhimpur Kheri

On 26 January, thousands of farmers agitating against the three contentious farm reform laws had clashed with the police in the national capital. The violence erupted during a tractor parade that was taken out by the protesting farmers to highlight their demands. Driving the tractors, many of them reached the Red Fort and hoisted a religious flag entering the monument. The incident left more than 500 police personnel injured.

In Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, eight people including four farmers were killed after being run over by an SUV on 3 October. The car allegedly belonged to Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni. Later, Ashish and 12 others were arrested after the Supreme Court pulled up the Yogi government for not taking action against the accused. The incident turned into one of 2021's biggest political issues following nationwide condemnation.

Union Cabinet reshuffle

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi underwent a major reshuffle in July 2021. With Jyotiraditya Scindia being given the high-profile aviation ministry, the revamp also saw some of the big names being dropped. The high-profile ministers who stepped down included Dr Harsh Vardhan, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank among others.

Farm laws repeal by the Centre

The three controversial farm reform laws at the heart of unprecedented protests by farmers for more than a year were eventually withdrawn following an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 November, 2021. The Centre, who held as many as 11 rounds of discussion with the agitating farmers and even offered to amend the laws, failed to achieve a breakthrough. The rollback of the farm laws is seen as a politically expedient move for the BJP ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

The year 2021 also saw several political rumblings around the world, and in many ways, some of them also changed the political narrative forever. Here are a few events that dominated headlines across the world this year.

Capitol Hill riots

Former US President Donald Trump’s attempt to reverse the 2020 US presidential election results took a dangerous turn on 6 January when an armed mob of his supporters stormed Capitol Hill just as Congress convened to validate Biden’s win.

The mob managed to get past the guards and enter the Senate. The rioters clashed with police, smashed windows and even looted the office used by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other representatives. The violence, which led to five deaths, was seen as one of the worst security breaches in the country’s history.

Joe Biden assumed the US Presidency on 20 January this year, amid heavy security concerns after the Capitol Riots. The 79-year-old politician became the 46th President of the United States, making him the oldest person to assume office.

Apart from Biden, Kamala Harris was also sworn in as the country’s first female, South Asian and Black vice-president.

Taliban take over Afghanistan

On 15 August, the Taliban entered Kabul, soon after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country for the United Arab Emirates. The group captured Kabul just days before US troops were set to exit the country.

The Taliban’s resurgence to power came after a two-week blitzkrieg in which they captured all major cities including Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Ghazni and Herat. The insurgent was earlier in power from 1996 to 2001, before it was driven out by US troops as part of its campaign against terrorism.

Since gaining power, the Taliban has re-imposed various restrictions on women, including barring them from most jobs and forbidding women to travel long distances without a male escort.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan has yet to gain international recognition. Afghanistan is also experiencing a humanitarian crisis as the US has frozen approximately $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank.

Australia-UK-US submarine deal

France’s Naval Group, which is partly owned by the state, had been contracted in 2016 to build 12 diesel-electric powered submarines for Australia. The subs were based on France’s Barracuda nuclear-powered submarines. However, Australia decided to dump the contract and opt for a new security alliance with the US and UK (AUKUS) that will equip it with nuclear-powered submarines.

The new security alliance, known as AUKUS, was widely seen as a move to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region. It also prompted much outrage from France, with French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian terming it “a stab in the back”.

https://ift.tt/2VPIjKC

Tensions between Israel and Palestine turned to violence on 3 May, after clashes in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. The clashes were sparked by long-standing efforts by Jewish settlers to evict Palestinians from the neighbourhood.

The violence soon spread to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, leading to hundreds being injured. A week after the first clashes took place, Palestinian militant group Hamas began firing rockets from Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes led to 11-days of hostilities, marking the deadliest fighting between the two since 2014. As per MoneyControl, 260 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the violence.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3Hvb0Pf

Ordering food from Zomato and Swiggy may get costlier from 1 January: Here’s why

Ordering food off Zomato and Swiggy may burn a bigger hole in your pocket from 1 January.

Starting 1 January, the food delivery apps will be liable to pay five percent of Goods and Services Tax on their restaurant services, per government orders.

This new charge may be offloaded to the users of these aggregators — that means you.

What’s cooking?

The GST Council in its 45th meeting in September had recommended that food delivery apps should be made liable to pay five percent tax.

Following this, the finance ministry issued a circular to announce that the new rule will come into effect starting 1 January.

Services provided by cloud kitchens or central kitchens also come under the ambit of restaurant service and attract five percent GST.

The government believes this move will curb tax evasions by restaurants, which, before the new GST rules come into effect, are responsible for collecting and depositing GST.

Estimates showed a loss to the exchequer from the alleged under-reporting by food delivery aggregators at Rs 2,000 crore in the last two years. Making these platforms liable for GST deposits would curb tax evasion.

What does it mean for customers?

As a customer, we are all aware that an order attracts certain taxes.

This new rule, effectively, shouldn't affect customers as the new rule only implies a transfer of responsibility of collecting and depositing the tax and does not mean new taxes were being announced.

So, in short, you should not be charged extra.

However, Swiggy or Zomato may introduce a fee that justifies the extra work that they are deemed to carry out on behalf of restaurants now.

Who's affected then?

Smaller restaurants, which have an annual turnover of less than Rs 20 lakh, will be most significantly impacted by the decision.

This is because they didn't come under the GST ambit earlier.

However, they will now need to pay taxes as it would be collected by the aggregator on their behalf.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/344HxwV

DRDO collaborates with private industry, gives extreme cold clothing technology to five firms

In yet another collaboration with the private industry, the Defence Research and Development Organisation [DRDO] on Tuesday handed over the technology for the development of an extreme cold winter clothing system [ECWCS] to five Indian companies.

The firms are Delhi-based M/s RHD Business Services India Pvt. Ltd and M/s SBNX Innovation [OPC] Pvt. Ltd, Coimbatore-based M/s Shiva Texyarn Limited, M/s Kusumgar Corporates Pvt. Ltd from Mumbai and M/s Ginni Filaments Limited in Mathura.

The technology was developed by the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences [DIPAS] of DRDO and is particularly critical at a time when India is locked in a military standoff with China at the Line of Actual Control—and soldiers continue to be deployed in the forward areas of eastern Ladakh through the peak winters when the temperatures dip to about minus 30 degrees Celsius.

Earlier this year, the Army had projected an annual requirement of 50,000 to 90,000 sets of extreme cold-weather clothing systems and similar quantities of special sleeping bags, rucksacks, multipurpose boots as well as snow goggles and summer suits for super high altitude areas among others.

These extreme cold weather clothing systems were among the 17 types of special clothing and mountaineering equipment that the Army had sought to procure from Indian vendors.

So far, most of them are imported from other countries, but as per the second positive indigenisation list of 108 items notified by the Defence ministry earlier this year, special clothing and mountaineering equipment will have to be procured only from indigenous sources from January 2023.

Defence officials told News18.com that the DRDO’s technology transfer to the private firms will go a long way in meeting this requirement for the Indian soldiers deployed in Siachen, eastern Ladakh and other high-altitude areas, in line with the Centre’s Make in India initiative.

What is the technology all about and how will it help soldiers?

DRDO officials told News18.com that the extreme cold weather clothing systems are ergonomically designed, modular in nature and comprise three layers, weighing less than 4.5 kg, even for the largest sizes.

The inner layer comprises a vest and a pair of trousers and provides insulation and wicks away sweat from the body, while the middle layer, comprising a jacket and trousers, provides maximum insulation and is resistant to water penetration on the outer surface.

The outer part is a camouflage printed insulated waterproof layer providing protection from wind chill and snow and is reversible.

The insulation was distributed in three layers of clothing for temperatures up to minus 50 degrees Celsius.

The officials said the ergonomic design of the clothing system will facilitate non-obstructive natural joint movements on wearing the winter clothing systems and will ensure minimum restriction to the range of motion of different body joints, thus maintaining flexibility and manoeuvrability of the user. It is designed in a way to provide protection to the face during extreme cold and blizzards.

It will also prevent dehydration and minimise temperature loss through breathing during activities.

The clothing system, officials said, will provide warmth and comfort to soldiers in high-altitude areas up to 30,000 feet and glaciated terrains in temperatures up to minus 50 degrees Celsius and wind velocity up to 60 km/hr, while preventing hypothermia and minimising the risks of frostbite and maintaining normal body temperature.

DRDO’s collaborations with private industry

While officials said that DRDO does not have immediate projects lined up for such collaborations with the industry, the organisation has carried out more than 1400 ToT [transfer of technology] agreements with various industries to date.

An official said this year alone, DRDO has carried out 178 ToT agreements with the private industry.

Some of the technologies that were recently transferred to the private industry include Fire Suppressing Gel, Coastal Surveillance Radar, Automatic Chemical Agent Detection and Alarm [ACADA] & Chemical Agent Monitor [CAM], Unit Maintenance Vehicle, Unit Repair Vehicle, Fused Silica-based Ceramic Core technology.

DRDO gets five percent of the total development cost as ToT fees from each industry, officials from the organisation told News18.com.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3FMdIzo

India rejects China renaming places in Arunachal: A look at how northeastern state has remained under a constant threat from Beijing

A day after China renamed 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, New Delhi said that “invented names” did not change the fact that the state has been and always will be an integral part of India.

India’s reaction came in response to Beijing announcing Chinese names for 15 more places in Arunachal Pradesh which the neighbouring country claims as South Tibet.

“We have seen such. This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

China claims that Arunachal Pradesh is “South Tibet” – an area that falls under its administrative control. Last year, the country had said that it did not recognise Arunachal Pradesh as a part of India.

Bagchi was responding to a media query on reports that China has renamed some places in Arunachal Pradesh in its own language.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on Wednesday that it had standardised in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet the names of 15 places in Zangnan, the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh, according to state-run Global Times.

This is in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet, it said in a report.

China had for the first time assigned Chinese names in Arunachal Pradesh in April 2017, just after the Dalai Lama’s visit to the state. The latest move comes ahead of China’s new border law – passed in October this year – coming into effect from January 1, 2022.

India had expressed concern that “China’s unilateral decision” to promulgate the new border law could have “implications on our existing bilateral arrangements on border management”.

China’s renaming of the places in Arunachal Pradesh came in the midst of the lingering eastern Ladakh border standoff that began in May last year.

Constant threat from China

China has been stepping up its infrastructure development in areas where previously, border transgressions were reported frequently. Concern over Chinese intrusions in the border state has been brought to the notice of the Centre from time to time.

In 2003, former Chief Minister Gegong Apang highlighted the situation in Maja and the adjoining region to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee while making a case for early resolution of the dispute.

Longju, Asaphila, Migyitun, Namka Chu, Chantze and other areas in Arunachal have witnessed frequent border transgressions since the late 1990s.

Recently, China upped the ante by building “defence villages” in the border areas. An NDTV report said, “China has constructed a second enclave or cluster of at least 60 buildings in Arunachal Pradesh”. It added the new enclave did not exist in 2019 according to the satellite images, but could be seen a year later.

China has built a large 100-home civilian village inside disputed territory between the Tibet Autonomous Region and India's Arunachal Pradesh, claimed the US Department of Defense in its annual report to Congress on military and security developments involving China.

These and other infrastructure development efforts along the India-China border have been a source of consternation in the Indian government and media, it stated.

The report also specifically points out that China has attempted to blame India for provoking the standoff through India's "increased infrastructure development" near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Asserting that its deployments to the LAC were in response to Indian provocation, Beijing has refused to withdraw any forces until India's forces have withdrawn behind its version of the LAC and ceased infrastructure improvements in the area, it stated.

Chinese state-controlled media forcefully asserted China's intent to refuse any territorial concessions demanded by India.

According to The Quint, China, since July 2017, has been aiming to set up 628 xiaokang (well-off) society villages all across Tibet border areas, one-third of which are closer to the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India. About 21 border counties were identified with India for the construction of these party-army outposts.

Why Arunachal Pradesh?

Arunachal Pradesh, also known as the North-East Frontier Organization (NEFA), is the largest state in the northeast and shares international borders with Tibet in the north and northwest with Bhutan in the West and Myanmar in the East.

However, China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet.

Beijing's main interest is in the Tawang district, which is located in the northwestern part of Arunachal Pradesh and on the border of Bhutan and Tibet. Defence experts say this is because of strategic and geopolitical reasons as Tawang is an entry point into India’s northeast.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3qFQdkY

'Patients are suffering': After 15 days of protests, Delhi resident doctors call off strike

After 15 days, Delhi’s resident doctors — who have been refusing to offer medical services — have decided to call off their strike today.

The resident doctors in Delhi, who were protesting over the delay in NEET-PG counselling and alleged manhandling of doctors by the police, said they will resume work from 12 pm on Friday.

Dr. Manish, president FORDA says patients are already suffering, many surgeries deferred. Considering this situation they are calling off the strike at 12pm today. pic.twitter.com/lYoss95wue

— ANI (@ANI) December 31, 2021

“The strike has been called off. We will rejoin work at 12 pm. We had a meeting with the joint commissioner of police (CP) last night where he gave instructions to cancel the FIR. As for the NEET-PG, we have been assured that the court clearance will come during the 6 January hearing,” said Dr Manish Kumar, president, Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA).

Resident doctors in the National Capital have been protesting for the past 15 days, leading to medical facilities being disrupted across hospitals.

The protests turned violent on Monday night when the junior doctors, who were on a march towards the Supreme Court, had been stopped by the Delhi Police. The situation descended into chaos, as doctors alleged they were lathi-charged by the authorities, a charge which has been denied by them.

Digging down, the resident doctors then refused to resume work till an apology was provided to them and on Tuesday, 28 December, resident doctors belonging to FORDA gathered in large numbers on the premises of Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital and raised slogans like 'We want justice'.

Patient care remained affected at three Centre-run facilities — Safdarjung, RML and Lady Hardinge hospitals and some other Delhi government-run hospitals too.

The Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital, which was the epicenter of the ongoing stir, witnessed chaos as the OPD counters remained shut. The doctors protested outside the emergency ward and all emergency services were obstructed. Even the ambulance services have been disrupted by the agitating doctors.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3mNkXPQ

India sees record 126 tigers deaths in 2021: Why the big cat's future in the country appears shaky

It's a high India would have loved not to end the year on, but 2021 has registered biggest margin of drop in tiger numbers in a decade at more than 120 of the big cats having fallen prey to everything from poachers and accidents to natural causes with man-animal conflict, too, extracting a toll. India is home to a third of the global tiger population and the country's success in saving the big cat is crucial to global efforts to protect their numbers.

Here's what you need to know.

How many tigers does India have?

According to the Union environment ministry, the fourth round of the country-level assessment done in 2018 showed that the estimated tiger population stood at 2,967. That marks an improvement over the last such estimate, put together in 2014, when the country was said to be home to 2,226 tigers.

India now accounts for 75 percent of the global tiger population "owing to its long history of conserving the species through Project Tiger", the ministry told Parliament in August 2021.

Nineteen states have received funds for tiger conservation with the country now home to 51 tiger reserves spread across 18 states that account for 2.24 per cent of India's geographical area.

Madhya Pradesh leads the states in tiger numbers and, per the 2018 figures, counted 526 of the big cats within its territory. Karnataka was a close second with 524 tigers while Uttarakhand had the third-highest population of 444 tigers.

Where was tiger deaths the highest?

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which has reporteedly maintained a public record of tiger deaths since 2012, has listed a total of 126 tiger deaths in 2021. That marks an increase of just a little under 20 percent over the 106 tiger deaths recorded in 2020.

In 2021, Madhya Pradesh led in tiger deaths, too, and saw 42 fatalities, followed by Maharashtra, which counted 26 tiger deaths till December 29, 2021. Karnataka had 15 tiger deaths.

Experts and government sources are reported to have said that the actual death count could be higher as many deaths deep inside forests go unreported. The Times of India said in a report, based on data put together by NGO Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), that there was a close to 50 percent jump in tiger deaths in the country in 2021 over 2020 with over 160 fatalities.

The NGO had said in July this year — after providing a count of 94 tiger deaths till then in the country — that the review of half-yearly data... shows the increase in deaths is shocking," Nitin Desai, WPSI's central India director, had said then that "with six months still to go, the number of deaths may further go up".

A separate report quotes the field director of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Sanjay Pathak, as saying that a larger tiger population naturally implies there will be more deaths, too. "The mortality rate being high should not be a cause for alarm. The death toll this year is less than five percent. Officials are putting efforts across India for the conservation of forests and wildlife species," he said.

What are the leading causes of tiger deaths?

According to NTCA, 65 deaths were reported inside a tiger reserve with the remaining having occurred outside of sanctuary limits. While the break-up of the causes of deaths was not available, poaching has remained one of the major causes behind tiger deaths. For the three years from 2018 to 2020, poaching accounted for 57 of the 303 total tiger deaths reported.

During the same period, 112 tiger deaths were put down to natural causes while the cause of 100 deaths had not been determined.

Man-animal conflict is increasingly turning out to be of concern, taking a substantial toll in both human and tiger lives. In 2020, the environment ministry had said that 44 persons had died due to tiger attacks while a report said that 2021 saw more than 80 deaths due to man-animal conflict involving tigers and leopards.

What is being, and what more needs to be done, to bring down deaths?

The Centre had in 1973 launched 'Project Tiger' that is said to be "the largest species conservation initiative of its kind in the world". India's success with efforts to protect the species, classified to be 'endangered' in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, have been hailed by experts even as the country has sought to strengthen monitoring and assessment of conservation strategies.

In 2006, the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, was amended to pave the way for the setting up of NTCA while efforts have been made to strengthen anti-poaching activities by providing funds for states with tiger reserves for the deployment of anti-poaching squads. Locals near tiger reserves are also included in the conservation efforts per the government strategy. A Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) has also been established in some of the tiger reserve states.

The government has also pursued reintroduction of tigers in reserves like Sariska and Panna where the species was found to have become locally extinct. "The successful reintroduction of wild tigers in Panna is a unique example and one of a kind in the world as the rewilded and reintroduced tigresses are breeding," the environment ministry has told Parliament. Tigers have also been reintroduced in the western part of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand.

But experts say that urgent steps are needed to avoid tiger deaths due to man-animal conflict where a key intervention would be to create corridors allowing for the safe movement of tigers, which are known to travel for hundreds of kilometres to lay stake to their territory even as the rate of shrinking of wildlife habitats raises concerns.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3mHXY92

Kerala lottery 2021: Karunya Plus KN-401 results to be declared at 3 pm today; first prize Rs 80 lakh

The Karunya Plus KN-401 lottery results will be announced by the Kerala State Lottery Department at 3 pm today, 30 December. Interested individuals can check the KN-401 lottery results, once they are out, at the official website at https://ift.tt/2K4yhLe.

The first prize of the Karunya Plus KN-401 will amount to Rs 80 lakh. The winner of the KN-401 second prize will take home Rs 10 lakh while the third prize winner will get Rs 1 lakh, according to MoneyControl.

The Karunya Plus KN-401 lottery draw will also have the fourth prize of Rs 5,000. The lottery draw will also give the fifth prize of Rs 1,000, the sixth prize of Rs 500 and the seventh prize of Rs 100. Certain lucky KN-401 prize winners will also take home a consolation prize of Rs 8,000.

Here is how to check the Karunya Plus KN-401 lottery results:

• Visit the official Kerala lottery website at https://ift.tt/2K4yhLe
• Click on the link for the Karunya Plus KN-401 results that is given on the page
• The Karunya Plus KN-401 results will appear on your screen. Check your lottery ticket number to see if you won any prize

The results of the Karunya Plus KN-401 lottery will also be published in the Kerala Government Gazette. Lottery winners need to verify their winning KN-401 ticket numbers with the results published in the Gazette.

After verifying the numbers, Karunya Plus KN-401 lottery winners need to go to the Kerala lottery office in Thiruvananthapuram and surrender their tickets to claim their prize money. The winners also need to carry a valid identity proof to begin the verification process for the Karunya Plus KN-401 prize money. If the process is not completed within 30 days, the KN-401 prize money cannot be claimed.

People who have won an amount over Rs 5,000 in the Karunya Plus KN-401 lottery draw need to surrender their tickets to the lottery office or any government bank to get the prize money. Individuals who have won an amount less than Rs 5,000, can claim their KN-401 prize money from any lottery shop in the state.

 

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3Hozd9A

‘Be cautious': Kiren Rijiju replies to worried tourist, says all are welcome to Arunachal Pradesh

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju recently posted a video sharing an important advisory on travelling to Arunachal Pradesh. In the footage, shared on 26 December, Rijiju is seen pushing a car that got stuck in the middle of a snow-filled road.

Keeping in mind the celebratory plans that tourists make during around New Year, the Union Minister shared a few cautionary tips for the people travelling to Tawang.

“Advise to tourists visiting Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh at this point of time. It is reported that heavy snowfall between Baishakhi, Sela Pass and Nuranang, ” Rijiju tweeted.

He also advised people to gather proper information before going to Arunachal as the road is extremely dangerous and the temperature goes down to -25 degrees at times.

Advise to tourists visiting Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh at this point of time. It is reported heavy snow fall between Baishakhi, Sela Pass and Nuranang. Pls get proper information before you move because the road is extremely dengerous to drive and temperature goes down to -25 ! pic.twitter.com/sLYM9aF4Fh

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) December 26, 2021

After the video went viral, many people who were planning a trip to Arunachal became anxious about the weather and a few even came up to the minister with queries.

One user on Twitter requested Rijiju not to impose any restriction in the state as his tickets are already booked. To which, the union minister replied and said that he was just giving advice for everyone's safety and told him not to worry.

Dear sir whatever it may be I've already booked my tickets to Arunachal, don't impose any restrictions, Marega tho marega lekin trip cancel nai hoga 😔 https://t.co/mDum8RBvo4

— Ashish Singhvi bharatiya (@Ashishsinghvi23) December 28, 2021

Furthermore, in another tweet, Rijiju also clarified the reason for his concern as people from plain areas are not aware of the perilous conditions of roads due to freezing cold, snow and less oxygen.

Brother, I extend a warm invitation to everyone to visit beautiful Arunachal Pradesh. Just be cautious as many people from plain areas are not aware of slippery road conditions due to snow, freezing cold and less oxygen. But the visit will be fun if you take proper care !! https://t.co/APM98CCo6J

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) December 29, 2021

It is, however, a common sight in hilly areas. The routes often get blocked due to snowfall, avalanches and landslides.

According to The Hindu Business line report, an ongoing wet spell over the northeast and east India has been set up by an itinerant western disturbance leading to a cyclonic circulation that may last till tomorrow, 31 December.

Currently, the North-western part of the country has come under a cold spell following the western disturbance that has moved towards the northeast and east India.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3pCzlMD

Girl following 'spiritual coaches' goes missing, parents claim 'shamanism influence': All you need to know about ancient tradition

A case of a missing 17-year-old girl in Bengaluru has drawn attention on Twitter as the helpless parents believe that the teen, who has disappeared since 31 October, may have come under the influence of shamanism.

This incident has now raised questions about the practice of Shamanism.

The missing teen

According to an NDTV report, 17-year-old Anushka left her home in Bengaluru with two pairs of clothes and Rs 2,500 in cash. Two months later, neither her parents, nor do the police have any clue where she is.

Her parents have said that Anushka was a regular teen, but in days prior to her disappearance she had become a recluse.

"I took her to a counsellor. The behavioural changes we saw was she stopped talking to us, she was keeping to herself, restricted herself from household activities" Abhishek, her father was quoted as telling NDTV.

⚠️ MISSING GIRL! ⚠️ Please share max! 17 year old Anushka has been missing from home, originally from Bangalore, and her loved ones are trying to locate her. Please RT and contact the number given if you have any information. Thank you for your help 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/iwYWByr7E7

— Kamya | Think For Yourself 🌻 (@iamkamyabuch) December 24, 2021

NDTV reported that Anushka had begun looking into the teachings of spiritual life coaches and psychedelic educators like Sahara Rose and Kamya Buch. Her parents suspect she was influenced by reading about shamanism online. She had reportedly spoken to her parents about wanting to pursue shamanism.

Bengaluru police say there were no CCTVs at the place where Anushka was said to have got dropped. They are probing her online activity.

Vinayak Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police of Bengaluru North said, "We analysed her movement through CCTV cameras. Apart from her online activities which we could gather forensically, we are exploring her interest in the recent past. During this intervening period, she has not contacted anybody. We are looking at a huge database of CCTV."

What is Shamanism?

Shamanism is an ancient healing tradition and moreover, a way of life. It is a way to connect with nature and all of creation.

According to one description, in shamanism, specialists establish and maintain personalistic relations with specific spirit beings through the use of controlled and culturally scripted altered states of consciousness.

The term shamanism comes from the Manchu-Tungus word šaman. The noun is formed from the verb ša- ‘to know’; thus, a shaman is literally “one who knows.” The shamans recorded in historical ethnographies have included women, men, and transgender individuals of every age from middle childhood onward. Anthropologists coined this term and have used it to refer to the spiritual and ceremonial leaders among indigenous cultures worldwide.

It is generally agreed that shamanism originated among hunting-and-gathering cultures, and that it persisted within some herding and farming societies after the origins of agriculture.

It is often found in sync with animism, a belief system in which the world is home to a plethora of spirit-beings that may help or hinder human endeavours.

Shaman practice in India

The shaman has different names in different ethnic communities.

Like the Santals of Orrisa, West Bengal and Jharkhand call them an 'ojha'. Reportedly, Shamanism is prevalent among different tribes in Arunachal Pradesh. Every tribe in Arunachal Pradesh has its own kind of ritual expert for performing rites and sacrifices. Tani people, who trace their ancestry to Abo Tani, believe that the antiquity of Shamanism is as old as the emergence of humankind.

In fact, people from different professions are turning to shamanism for information and healing, giving rise to multiple shaman centres and workshops across the country.

Indonesia's tyrst with shamans

Shamans are very popular in Indonesia.

In fact, the country has several 'rain shamans' who are often hired to keep weddings, concerts, and even government events rain-free.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/32vPU4q

Assembly Elections 2022: Political parties want polls to be conducted on time following all COVID-19 protocols, says EC

The Election Commission on Thursday held a press conference at 12 pm amid demands to postpone polls due to the Omicron threat.

Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra revealed that "representatives of all political parties met us and told us that elections should be conducted on time following all COVID-19 protocols".

He said, "The tenure of UP Assembly ends on 14 May. We have met representatives of the political parties, all district magistrates and superintendents of police of the districts, other senior officers. We also met GST, ED, IT officials. We want to keep election free of corrupt practices. These agencies have given clear instructions to ensure the same."

He also said, the final voters list will be released on 5 January 2022. People above 80 years of age, persons with disabilities, and COVID-19 affected people who are unable to come to the polling booth, the Election Commission will reach their doorsteps for vote.

Besides, VVPATs will be installed at all voting booths. Live webcasting facilities will be available at around 1 lakh voting booths to ensure transparency in election process, he declared.

Revising the time of polling, Chandra said "voting during Assembly elections will be held from 8am to 6pm on the date of polling."

Drawing attention to the large poll rallies being held ahead of the elections amid surging COVID-19's Delta and Omicron cases, a reporter present at the conference asked the ECE its take on it. Chandra said "big rallies are under our attention. A detailed guidelines about how to structure the big rallies will be issued after the MCC comes into force."

"We have discussed this issue with the health secretary here. When elections are announced, we will issue directions specifically on this issue looking at the situation then," he added.

He further added that the Allahabad High Court's suggestion will be taken into account while deciding the dates of the election. The Allahabad High Court on 24 December had urged the ECI to postpone the upcoming legislative Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh by at least two months citing the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, it is necessary to speed up COVID-19 vaccination in poll-bound states and all poll officials will be fully vaccinated, he declared.

A delegation of the EC had met district and division level officials in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday to review the preparations for the next year’s state assembly elections. The delegation had held meetings with officials all through the day.

An official spokesperson said the delegation met district magistrates, police chiefs, commissioners, IGs, DIGs and other officials and reviewed the preparations for the upcoming polls to ensure free and fair elections.

Earlier, a booklet, voters' guide, a pamphlet on information about EVMs and VVPAT machines prepared by the office of the chief electoral officer of Uttar Pradesh was released.

On Tuesday, the EC delegation held meetings with various political parties — representatives of BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Communist Party of India attended the meet.

During the meetings, the BJP demanded that women security personnel be posted at every polling booth, while the SP sought a separate list of differently abled voters and those above the age of 80. The RLD had demanded that VVPAT slips be recounted.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3EGDS5c

Mamata vs Dhankhar: In Bengal, fresh row erupts over talk of replacing governor as university chancellor

A couple of days after suggestions were made that he should be replaced from the titular post of Chancellor of state-run universities in West Bengal, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday lashed out at the state government.

On Thursday, taking to Twitter, Dhankhar alleged that vice-chancellors of 24 universities in the state, including Kolkata and Jadavpur, had been appointed illegally. He also published a list of those universities by tweeting on Thursday. That list includes universities like Calcutta, Jadavpur, Gaurabanga, Alipurduar, Burdwan.

VCs of 24 Universities appointed @MamataOfficial in disregard of law.

These are ex facie in defiance of specific orders or without approval by Chancellor-the Appointing Authority.

These appointments carry no legal sanction and would be forced to take action unless soon recalled pic.twitter.com/hwX6dWzcSP

— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) December 30, 2021

The state's education minister Bratya Basu had tweeted on Friday that there was the need to "introspect" on whether the state needs to continue with the colonial legacy of the governor being ex-officio chancellor of all state-run universities and eminent scholars should be appointed instead.

He had later suggested to newspersons that the chief minister should be made interim chancellor.

War of words in West Bengal

"I was astonished that the Education Minister, who should have interacted with me, instead said that the chief minister will be made chancellor," Dhankhar said after landing at the airport in Kolkata on a week-long visit to north Bengal.

"You make the chief minister the governor also in addition to making her the chancellor," he said sarcastically, terming Basu's stance as inappropriate.

Dhankar had earlier called a meeting of chancellors and vice-chancellors of private universities in the state in his capacity as Visitor on 18 December. However, the meeting had fallen through as most heads of universities had excused themselves.

On 20 December, the Governor had called for a meeting with all the chancellors and vice-chancellors of private universities but no one had attended the meet.

An attempt to hold the meeting on 23 December also fell through, and the Governor had taken to social media to vent his ire.

An earlier attempt by him to call a meeting of vice-chancellors or executive heads of state-run universities had also ended without any bothering to attend.

The governor has been claiming in one tweet after another that the vice-chancellors of the universities are not responding to his repeated calls.

Dhankhar, who is the principal of all the universities in the state, also complained that the 'finger of the ruler is not in Helen'. He said, “It is not the law but the reflection of the law of the ruler that is seen in the education system. An atmosphere of fear has been created."

Dhankhar also alleged that the manner in which the state government appoints vice-chancellors without the approval of the Acharya is a farce of the law. He also requested the UGC (University Grants Commission) to investigate the matter in a video uploaded on Twitter.

This comes against the backdrop of a taut relationship between Banerjee and the Raj Bhavan since Dhankhar’s appointment as the governor in July 2019. More so in the wake of delay by him in giving approval to the name of a state information commissioner, besides friction before clearing several recent Bills passed by the Assembly.

Dhankar has had several run-ins with the state government under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on a number of issues and the row over his attempts to exercise his powers as Chancellor.

Dhankar also reiterated that he had not given his assent to the Howrah Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, adding that a submission made by the state advocate general before the Calcutta High Court to this effect may be erroneous.

"There is no paper, letter, discussion, consideration before the governor with regard to bifurcation of Howrah Municipal Corporation and creation of Bally municipality," he said.

The Governor had earlier said that he had sent back the bill, for excluding areas of erstwhile Bally municipality from Howrah Municipal Corporation, on 24 November with queries which were yet to be answered.

"It is wrong for the Advocate General to submit before the high court that the governor has given assent to the bill," he said.

State Advocate General SN Mookherjee on Friday told the Calcutta High Court that the governor has given his assent to the bill, paving the way for holding separate elections to the two bodies.

Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy however said that the state had sent its reply to the questions raised by the governor regarding the bill which was earlier passed in the West Bengal Assembly.

"He (governor) is deliberately trying to delay elections of Howrah Municipal Corporation and Bally Municipality, this is purely politically motivated," he said, questioning Dhankhar's assertion that he did not give his assent to the bill.

BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh however charged that the Mamata Banerjee government is trying to turn the governor into a rubber stamp.

"This is not good for the constitutional setup," Ghosh said.

Dhankhar, who has enjoyed a not-so-friendly relationship with the TMC government since taking over as governor in July, 2019 with both sides sparing no chance to attack each other, was also critical of Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee.

Banerjee has on Saturday said that he has written to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing Dhankhar of his "interference" in legislative matters.

"The Speaker should be aware of the duties and responsibilities of the position," the governor said.

He said that on the two occasions he addressed the House, he was reminded of the Emergency era, as both the times his "address was blacked out".

Dhankhar said that when he went to visit the Assembly for the first time, it was locked.

"Such a conduct of the Speaker cannot be countenanced," he said.

Sougata Roy however took exception to Dhankar's comments on the speaker and said the Governor "is crossing the limits and has insulted Biman Banerjee earlier also," he said.

However, BJP's Ghosh said that the governor is a constitutional authority and insulting Dhankhar meant demeaning a constitutional post.

"This is a cause of concern for a democratic set-up," the BJP leader said.

With inputs from PTI

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3qtazOo

From 350 to 961: India’s Omicron tally rises by over 600 cases in just six days

The new highly-mutated variant of coronavirus, Omicron, is rapidly spreading in India and there’s nowhere to hide.
As of 30 December, the nation’s Omicron case tally has risen to 961, with 263 cases in Delhi and 252 in Maharashtra. Of the 961 cases, 320 Omicron cases have recovered or been discharged.

With Punjab reporting its first Omicron case after a 36-year-old man, who came from Spain earlier this month tested positive for the new variant, the number of states and union territories where this highly contagious strain has been detected rose to 22.

With the Omicron spread, India’s COVID-19 tally has also risen exponentially and on Thursday, the caseload had seen a jump of 13,154. The last time the daily rise in cases was over 10,000 was on 26 November — with 10,549 infections.
Take a look at where the country stands in regards to coronavirus and the new variant.

New Delhi: Delhi on Wednesday reported a massive jump in daily COVID-19 infections with 923 fresh cases, the highest since May 30 and 86 percent up from a day earlier.

After six months, the positivity rate crossed 1 per cent as it was recorded at 1.29 per cent. On December 20, there were only 91 COVID-19 cases in the national capital and the figure climbed to nearly 1,000-mark with fresh 923 infections on Wednesday.

The city also recorded 238 Omicron cases on Wednesday. There were 165 cases of the new variant a day earlier.
For those still wondering about the rise in cases, here's a simple fact: In a week's time, the positivity rate of coronavirus cases jumped to 1.29 per cent from 0.19 per cent in Delhi.

The spike in cases has also led the authorities to impose a 'yellow alert' in the national capital, which has led to the closure of schools and education institutions, restaurants to function at half capacity, closure of cinema halls and theatres and public transport such as the Metro to function at 50 percent seating capacity.

Incidentally, six days ago, Delhi's Omicron count stood at 67 and the overall daily COVID-19 count was 180.

Maharashtra: The western state reported 85 fresh cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the highest single-day tally recorded so far by any state in the country, taking the overall count to 252.

Mumbai has seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases for the past few days and Wednesday was no different. Mumbai reported 2,510 fresh COVID cases, the highest daily addition since 8 May, and one death, taking its tally to 7,75,808 and toll to 16,375, a civic official said.

The spike in the country's financial capital has got pronounced since 20 December, when just 283 cases were reported. Tuesday had witnessed 1,377 cases in the metropolis, and Wednesday's figure was a jump by over 80 percent, an official pointed out.

Gujarat: Officials in the state are on high alert after it reported 548 new COVID-19 cases crossing the 500-mark for the first time after more than six-and-a-half months, raising its overall tally to 8,30,505, while one more patient succumbed to the infection in the state.

Gujarat has witnessed a sharp jump in its daily COVID cases over the last few days, recording 177 infections on Sunday, 204 on Monday, 394 on Tuesday and now 548. Also, the state ranks third in regards to Omicron infections — 97.

Karnataka: Karnataka recorded 566 new cases of which, Bengaluru alone accounted for 400, pushing the total number of active cases in the state to 7,771.

The state's Omicron count also stands at 43 after five new cases were detected on Wednesday.

The spike in cases has forced authorities to clamp down on New year celebrations after 10 pm in public places.

Punjab: The state reported its first Omicron case. According to officials, Punjab's positivity rate stands at 0.3 percent and has increased slightly over the past few days.

Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu reported 739 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, an increase from 619 cases on Tuesday. Additionally, with 11 more infections, the state's Omicron count is now at 45.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3mKAvnv

Pakistan acquires 25 China-made fighter jets to counter India: A comparison of J-10C with Rafale

Responding to India's purchase of the Rafale aircraft from France, Pakistan has reached out to its friend — China — and acquired a full squadron of 25 Chinese multirole J-10C fighter jets.

Since the acquisition comes as a means to counter India in the skies, it is only fair to compare the two aircraft and examine which of the two is better.

Size comparison

The Rafale is 15.27 metres in length and has a wingspan of 10.80 m. The J-10C, which is an upgraded version of the J-10, measures 15.49 metre in length and has a wingspan of 9.75 m.

Range and thrust

The J-10C has an empty weight of 8,850 kg against Rafale’s empty weight of 9,850 kg. The Rafale is heavier by one tonne when empty but has a far greater thrust coming out of its engines.

The Rafale has a 20 percent greater thrust for just 11 percent higher weight than the J-10C. This means for the same weight of fuel and weapons, Rafale is going to have a thrust-to-weight ratio far better than the J-10C which means better agility and higher energy which is the deciding factor within visual range (WVR) combat.

Moreover, the Rafale has a range of 3,700 km as compared to the 1,850 km that the J-10C offers. One aspect where the Rafale trails behind the J-10C is speed; while the Rafale has a maximum speed of Mach 1 (1,912 km/h), the J-10C is blazing ahead at Mach 2.2 (2,400 km/h).

What really matters is that the short-range missile of Rafale (MICA-IR) is generations ahead of the PL-8/9 missiles of the J-10C. The MICA-IR has an Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker against PL-8’s Infrared (IR) seeker and also has a much higher range, off bore shoot capability, G tolerance and kill probability.

Radars and missiles

The J-10C has a Chinese AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar with 1,200 T/R (transmitter-receiver) modules. On the other hand, the Rafale is equipped with the RBE2 AESA radar with 838 T/R modules.

While both fighter jets come with sound radars, the Rafale has a slight edge as it has a higher detection range.

The J-10C uses the PL-15, which is a dual-stage BVRAAM with a 200+ km range. But the J-10C is crippled with a radar that cannot use its full potential and hence even though the missile has a good range, its full potential can never be utilised, experts have noted.

The Rafale, on the other hand, uses the Meteor which is unarguably the best AAM in the world it uses a next-generation technology called the ducted ramjet which ensures a high range of 200 km.

Battle-ready

The Chinese fighter has never seen the light of battle or a joint exercise (except with Pakistan) whereas the Rafale has been used in combat operations in Mali, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and Syria.

One must note that the Chinese J-10C acquisition in Pakistan hasn't been welcomed by all.

A prominent senator in the country, Dr Afnan Ullah Khan, tweeted that he did not “understand the logic behind buying J-10C”.

Khan wrote Pakistan already had an aircraft similar to the J-10, referring to the F-16. He reasoned that the J-10C was not “as good as the Rafale”, which is in service with the Indian Air Force.

I don’t understand the logic behind buying J-10C. We already have a fighter (F-16) which is in the similar class and generation. I don’t think J-10C is as good as Rafale also. We should have invested this money in building Project Azm and enhancing JF-17 capabilities. https://t.co/Dn1CpjajVS

— Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan (@afnanullahkh) December 17, 2021

Pakistan already has a fleet of US-made F-16s, which is considered a good match for Rafale and the J-10C is expected to strengthen its air capabilities.

With inputs from agencies

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3zd4edH

Luxury lies: The real meaning of news these days

“Arrests, Beatings and Secret Prayers: Inside the Persecution of India’s Christians,” declared a front-page item in the New York Times two days before Christmas. It was a massive, well-illustrated story that I first read, or rather, experienced, richly in its online version.

The headline, in white letters, hung across an intense photograph of hands raised in prayer, framing a pastor and a Cross in the distance. It was composed, clearly, to engage, immerse, transport you to church in India from wherever you were reading it, whether a Manhattan high-rise, Brooklyn brownstone, or Silicon Valley suburb.

At least a dozen photographs followed, echoing for me many media memories such as old Life magazine spreads and Pearl S Buck’s The Good Earth type compassion-aesthetics. One image though followed a more recent media code for India stories, and that one involved a low-angle point of view, suggesting an ominous, horror movie mood. This was reserved for what otherwise seemed a serene image of Lord Rama on the wall of an alleged “Hindu nationalist”.

‘What’s That?’

The visual codes dominated at first glance (which, in our age of ever-glowing and never-relenting phone screens might well turn out to be the only glance), but the words offered up what to me seemed like familiar characterisations of people by identity in the New York Times. The Christians were “mid-hymn when the mob kicked in the door” while “to many Hindu extremists… Christianity is a threat to their dream of turning India into a pure Hindu nation.” And in Bihar, where Pastor Patil is conducting a secret service in an unmarked farmhouse, a dog barks outside and instantly, “one woman whipped around and whispered, ‘what’s that?’”

This tone of particularly intense fear reminded me of not one but two lines, albeit identical ones, from the New York Times and National Public Radio in 2019. In an NYT article dated 11 April 2019 titled “Under Modi, a Hindu Nationalist Surge Has Further Divided India,” we are introduced to Adnan and other Muslims from old Delhi’s “catacombs” who are afraid to walk alone and whose “voices drop to a whisper” when they talk because they can be lynched. A few days later, NPR’s April 23, 2019 report titled “India is Changing Some Cities Names, and Muslims Fear their Heritage is Being Erased,” presents to us one Ashraf, whose voice, also, “drops to a whisper.” (Read my article on this from 2019 here)

Media critics and apologists

I see patterns, codes, tropes, in media because that is what I believe it is my professional responsibility to do. But I see it also as an act of human decency not to deny that these stories might be about real people and real suffering somewhere out there. It is not easy to do both at the same time, and in the days when I was active on social media, I used to find friends getting upset with me for “nitpicking” media reports when “Hindu Nationalism” was sweeping across India.

It is not uncommon for those of us who teach or write about media to be confronted with such charges. Just a few hours ago, I saw a tweet from Ashley Rindsberg, whose book on the New York Times’ egregious record covering world affairs has been making waves, sharing a similar complaint. How can you criticise an institution on “our side” just for a few small mistakes?, is the tone of this sort of pushback to media criticism.

The publishing establishment hates that I wrote a book about @nytimes. Here's one representative response I received.

Maybe they hate it because NYT Bestseller list is the most powerful tool in book marketing. Maybe it's just politics.

Either way, f' em. pic.twitter.com/Xk0ST3kzNR

— Ashley Rindsberg - TheGrayLadyWinked.com (@AshleyRindsberg) December 26, 2021

Of course, the fact is that while some of my friends might see my decoding of this NYT article as a distraction from the really important work of combating Hindutva, some of my friends will probably see what is quite obviously the trouble with NYT’s massive article already.

These friends, like me, would have probably seen not only the NYT’s claim about minority persecution in India but almost around the same time, also read the news that India’s “Hindu nationalist” government long criticised in the same media for minority persecution has actually managed to get a long-closed church going again in Srinagar (read this AJE piece for fun on the same news for its interesting slant on the whole thing).

These friends would have also seen the news about people being massacred over accusations of blasphemy, and not once by Hindus. These friends would probably also remember very well how the last time there was a blasphemy attack on Christians by Muslims in Pakistan, an NYT columnist blamed it on Pakistani Muslims having been influenced by the “Hindu Caste System.”

And most of all, these friends probably also remember, like me, the photo of the weeping archaka of the Ramateertham temple in Andhra Pradesh holding the head of his beloved Rama earlier this year when a spate of attacks broke out against Hindu deities and temples there.

Polarisation and News

I often wonder about the deceptive familiarity of our social media feeds, about how easy it is for X to assume that Y has also been seeing the same things and how on earth could he or she possibly think differently. That we live in silos, even as we seem to be always in each other’s lives and minds through our feeds, is the reality today. How can we hope to “agree to disagree,” as the saying goes, when we can’t agree even on what is actually happening in the world, on how much violence against Hindus there is, for example, beyond the pages of the New York Times?

I think one way for us to overcome the divide is to step back from the way we normally think about news. We are so accustomed to thinking of news as a source of information (or disinformation) that we forget that it is essential, and perhaps increasingly, only a consumer product, designed and delivered with marketing precision rather than lofty ideals about serving the cause of truth and so on.

In his recent book, Hate Inc, Matt Taibbi makes an even more compelling comparison — news is more like a drug than a discourse, the outcome of a “marketing process designed to create rhetorical addictions.” Scrolling, he writes, has become “a similar tactile trigger to grinding a lighter with a thumb.” The way we pick up our phones constantly is one part of it. The way we get sucked into rivers of anger and outrage at what we read, either in agreement, or in disagreement, is another part of it.

Pandemic of propaganda

As we come to the end of our second year under the crushing weight of a pandemic accompanied by a propaganda explosion that leaves us with ever lessening trust in institutions like media, it is perhaps useful to distance ourselves from the nitty-gritty of the claims and counterclaims around news these days.

I know that some of my friends will never feel the way I do about the pictures I saw earlier this year from Andhra Pradesh, and later from Bangladesh, of dozens of cruelly destroyed Hindu deities, to understand why I feel less and less persuaded by lavish photo essays of the sort the New York Times presented to its readers recently. But I can, perhaps, try to understand why this object, this phenomenon, this experience, exists in the first place, a little more. Even after three decades of studying, teaching and writing about media, it seems there is more to learn. And this year has been a particularly instructive if also humbling one.

The year began with the war on Hinduism in my home state, unsung and unnoticed in the New York Times, naturally. The year peaked to a devastating summer with families struggling for breath and life during the second wave while propagandists on one side preyed with drone-cams over funeral pyres and propagandists on the other went into uppity denials over it (at first at least).

The year ends now with depressing reports about hateful acts and words everywhere; poor pilgrims seeking food accused of blasphemy and getting lynched, lunatic “religious leaders” issuing calls for violence, and clever politicians assuring us that they only meant the police and not everybody really when they spewed fanatical calls for vendetta.

The year ends, as it began, as it was, with untruth and fear. But there is one optimistic footnote (though, I must caution you this I mean somewhat ironically). After reading the huge December 23^rd NYT piece on how Hindus are persecuting Christians in India, I took a look at the print version too, to get a sense of where it was placed in the paper.

Luxury lies

The story was at the bottom of the front page, and right under the headline was a bright colour advertisement for a luxury cruise company. It seemed an apt illustration of the point that this year’s best critics of media have made.

Behind all their walls of words about “Hindu nationalism” and “White Supremacism” companies like the New York Times were really elite productions selling elitist markers of belonging to elite audiences (Batya Ungar Sargon notes in Bad News that between 38-46 percent of readers of New York Times, National Public Radio, Wall Street Journal and the Economist fall into the $75K+ bracket).

What they sell, really, are customers who can afford to go on luxury cruises around the world in the middle of a pandemic at that, to advertisers who want just that sort of exclusive audience. And what they offer to keep those audiences hooked of course, is that sense of moral superiority; about race, religion, political ideology, everything that helps them deflect the obvious realities of class.

The phrase “luxury beliefs” are being used in some American circles to describe the worldview of this elite segment. I think “luxury lies” is a more appropriate term to describe what the New York Times delivers with its India stories though.

The writer teaches media studies at the University of San Francisco. Views expressed are personal.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3pFXZwc

From Kashi to Kanpur: Analysing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s growth template

The 594-kilometre, six-lane Ganga Expressway, the second longest in the country, that will connect Meerut and Prayagraj was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Shahjahanpur on 18 December, 2021. The inspiration behind the expressway is the vision of Modi to provide fast-paced connectivity across the country. The expressway will be built at a cost of over Rs 36,200 crore. It will start from near the Bijauli village in Meerut and will extend till near the Judapur Dandu village in Prayagraj. The expressway will reduce the time travel time to seven hours between Delhi and Prayagraj.

A 3.5-kilometre air-strip for assisting emergency take-off and landing of Air Force planes will also be constructed on the expressway in Shahjahanpur. An industrial corridor is also proposed to be built along the Ganga Expressway, which will give a fillip to multiple sectors including industrial development, trade, agriculture, tourism, etc. Needless to add, it will provide a big boost to the socio-economic development of the region, underlining the massive infrastructure push by the Modi government in its stated goal to become a $5trillion economy.

Besides the Ganga Expressway, Modi also inaugurated the first phase of the Rs 339 crore Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project connecting the Kashi Vishwanath temple with the Ganga ghats, in what was a “historic day” for the holy city of Varanasi and the country. Before inaugurating the corridor, Modi greeted the labourers who were involved in the construction of the project with flowers and even shared a meal with them, thereby cutting through the “classist” mindset prevalent among erstwhile regimes. Don’t forget that India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru had in the summer of 1951 actually admonished the then President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, who wanted to attend the grand inauguration ceremony at Somnath temple. Nehru chided Prasad, accusing the latter of engaging in Hindu revivalism.

The restoration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham is, therefore, a resurrection of all that Hinduism, aka Hindutva, stands for in terms of inclusivity and beyond. Modi is not apologetic about his Hindu credentials and rightfully so. Be it foundation stone laying ceremony of Ram Janmabhoomi, the beautification of the Somnath temple, the restoration of Kedarnath Dham, or freeing Char Dham in Uttarakhand from government control, the BJP and the Modi government have never shied away from espousing the cause of Hindu dharma. Those who accuse Modi of espousing the majoritarian cause conveniently forget the rampant minoritarianism that has been propounded persistently for decades together by successive Congress regimes, right from throwing lavish iftar parties to making a mockery of Hinduism by denying the very existence of Lord Ram and Ram Sethu, which have been integral to Hindutva.

The Kashi temple’s area has been expanded to a massive five lakh square feet. Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar had helped rebuild the Kashi Vishwanath temple in 1780, after it was repeatedly destroyed during Mughal rule. Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab had helped in gold plating and beautifying the temple in 1833.

Restoring Kashi Vishwanath Dham to its earlier glory is one of the biggest testimonies to how the Modi government is unshackling India from its erstwhile colonial legacy. The new complex is a reflection of our capability, of our duty. It shows that nothing is impossible if one is determined. It took a tall leader of the stature of Modi to finally restore India's glorious heritage after successive regimes failed to do so. The Congress, which ruled India for the longest time, only paid lip service to the cause of our great saints, seers, temples and monuments.

Kashi Vishwanath Corridor is not just about reviving our rich heritage and holy pilgrimage sites, but also about continuing with modern development projects that will pave the way for growth, with an eye on the future.

Work has been done to beautify the Somnath temple; a modern optic fiber cable network is being laid under the sea. While the Ayodhya temple is being built, at the same time, several new medical colleges are also being opened in adjoining districts. And while the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project has been completed, crores of pucca houses for the poor are also being built in the region. Hence the Modi mantra is both about development and reclaiming our pristine legacy of yore. Cleanliness, innovation and continuous efforts for an aatmanirbhar Bharat are the things that Kashi Vishwanath Corridor amplifies in more ways than one.

Over 40 start-up unicorns, each valued above Rs 7,000 crore, that have been created by Indian youth in the last year or so, reflect the great potential that India has, something Modi highlighted during his engagements at Kashi. The whole new complex of Baba Vishwanath Dham is not just a grand building, but also a symbol of the Sanatan culture of India. It is a symbol of our spiritual soul, it is a symbol of India’s antiquity and traditions. Prime Minister Modi’s desire to restore Kashi Vishwanath Dham was driven by the intent to facilitate the pilgrims and devotees, who had to encounter congested streets and surroundings with poor upkeep, when they practised the age-old custom of taking dip in the holy river, collecting Gangajal and offering it at the Baba Vishwanath temple. Coming back to unicorns, 10,000 of them have come up in India in the last six months alone.

A total of 23 buildings were inaugurated in Phase 1 of the Kashi project. They (buildings) will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others. The project is now spread over a massive area of about five lakh square feet, whereas earlier premises were limited to just around 3,000 square feet.

The project involved purchase and acquisitions of more than 300 properties around Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The rehabilitation of around 1,400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners was done amicably. The testimony of the project’s success is the fact that there is no litigation pending in any court of the country regarding acquisitions or rehabilitation related to the development of the project. Also, all heritage structures have been preserved during the course of development of the project. During the process of destruction of the old properties, more than 40 ancient temples were rediscovered. These temples have been restored and beautified, while ensuring that there is no change in the original structure.

Thanks to Modi’s ability to translate vision into reality, Kashi is becoming a big medical hub of Purvanchal. Cleanliness and beauty of the Ganga and Kashi have always been an aspiration and priority for the Modi government. Work is on for schemes worth Rs 8,000 crore in the region. Various public projects and works, including a 100 bed MCH wing in BHU, multi-level parking at Godauliya, Ro-Ro vessels for tourism development on river Ganga and three lane flyover bridge on the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway, showcase how astha (faith) and vikas (development) have embraced each other.

Additionally, the foundation stones of several projects and public works worth around Rs 839 crores were also laid. These include the Centre for Skill and Technical Support of Central Institute of Petrochemical Engineering and Technology (CIPET), 143 rural projects under Jal Jeevan Mission and mango and vegetable integrated pack house in Karkhiyaon.

The rapidly improving medical infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh is also commendable. Number of medical colleges in the last four years has grown four-fold. Many medical colleges are in various states of completion. About 550 oxygen plants are being established in the state. The efforts to improve paediatric ICUs and oxygen facilities by the State government are happening rapidly. The recently announced Rs 23,000-crore package will also help Uttar Pradesh. Work is being done on every front, like roads, sewage treatment, beautification of parks and ghats, including widening of Panchkosi Marg.

Large LED screens installed all over the city and latest technology information boards on the ghats will be of great help to the visitors to Kashi. These LED screens and information boards will present the history, architecture, crafts, art, and every such information of Kashi in an attractive way and will be of great use to the devotees.  The Ro-Ro service and cruise service that were inaugurated recently will boost tourism, and the Rudraksh centre will provide a world class platform to the artists of the city.

The development of Kashi as a centre of learning in modern times has been made possible, thanks to Modi. Today Kashi is also home to model schools, ITI and many such institutions. CIPET’s Centre for Skilling & Technical Support will help in the area of industrial development. The infrastructure development in Uttar Pradesh has been relentless in recent times. The Defence Corridor, Purvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway, Gorakhpur Link Expressway and Ganga Expressway are a few examples of the recent push.

At the 54th Convocation of IIT Kanpur, Modi reinforced how faith and innovation can coexist and blend meaningfully, to encourage new opportunities. “Now there is no ‘Fear of Unknown’, now you have the courage to explore the whole world. There is no longer the ‘Query of Unknown’, but ‘Quest for the Best’ and a dream to conquer the whole world,” the PM said while lauding the history of Kanpur and its diversity.

“Kanpur is one of the few cities in India that is so diverse — from Satti Chaura Ghat to Madari Pasi, from Nana Saheb to Batukeshwar Dutt. When we visit this city, it seems as if we are travelling to that glorious past, of the glory of the sacrifices of the freedom struggle,” said Modi.

The moot point here is that be it Kashi or IIT Kanpur, Modi has repeatedly stressed on India’s glorious culture, saints, seers and rich Hindu traditions, but at the same time, he has also exhorted people to embrace innovation and develop scientific temper.

Long ago, Franklin D Roosevelt said, “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.”

Well, that quote held true for India where for decades together Hindus were deprived of a sense of pride in their culture and their roots. But after Modi took charge at the helm, India has been unstoppable in its march towards both economic progress and spiritual vibrancy, with our mindset now unshackled by any strapping of colonialism. If IIT Kanpur is the epitome of excellence and hunger for knowledge that drives India's brightest, equally, Kashi is today a microcosm of how growth, prosperity and pride in our historical roots, can all coexist harmoniously.

Needless to add, it is Prime Minister Modi who, by seamlessly embracing both Kashi and Kanpur, has showcased how old-world charm and the new-age India are both two sides of the same template that define the Modi model of good governance.

Sanju Verma is an economist, BJP’s national Spokesperson, and the author of ‘Truth and Dare: The Modi Dynamic’. Views expressed are personal.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3HjLNqF